A short biography about Mary Porter was written in her CommonPlace Book in 1844, two years after she died. She was born in
1823 and lived in Lyme, New Hampshire. In 1840, when she turned 17 years of age, she moved to South Hadley, Massachusetts
to attend Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.
She died of consumption in 1842 in South Hadley, Massachussetts.
Several people wrote in Mary Washburn Porter's CommonPlace Book during her life and after she died. The CommonPlace Book
has quotations from the people she knew in Lyme, New Hampshire as well as from the young girls she met at Mount Holyoke.
The book contains letters and notes to Mary Porter. Many of the inscriptions are religious quotes from teachers, acquaintances,
and her classmates at Mount Holyoke. There are pencil drawings and pieces of ephemera inserted inside the book.

Background

Mary Porter and her family lived in Lyme, New Hamphire during the 19th century. She was born there in 1823. When she turned
17 years of age in 1840 she began matriculated into Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Two years
later she died of consumption in 1842 in South Hadley. Mary Porter was one of the first students to attend Mount Holyoke Female
Seminary.